A Nightmarish Storm
by Moonstone210
Summary: Spinel comforts Steven in the middle of a storm... and Steven comforts her


_**CRASH!**_

Spinel shuddered from the roaring thunder, "Geez, it's really getting bad." Usually she loved the rain, but thunderstorms... they were different.

Even though it was still daylight, the clouds were almost black, the only light source outside being the few-second-long lightning piercing the sky. It had already been an hour into the thunderstorm, but the power was somehow still on despite the pounding raindrops. Steven had wanted to take a nap to sleep through it, Greg got the same idea, and the Gems had gone to their rooms since they didn't have a mission today.

So, in hindsight, Spinel was bored... And a little anxious.

She really didn't want to drag Steven outside, but she didn't like the fact that the storm kept them all cooped up in the beach house. Sighing aloud, she stretched her limbs out on the couch, then relaxed, her arms and legs lengthening like noodles.

She had tried sleeping like Amethyst does, but the thunder kept her awake. Why hasn't she gone to her room then? Then she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Steven, of course.

_**CRASH!**_

She nearly yelped, wrapping her arms around her body, and almost even fell off the couch. She gasped for air, but sighed in relief.

... Only for the room to go pitch black and a faint sound of the power buzzed until it died. _Great,_ she thought.

A frightened whimper from Steven caught off her frozen reaction. Standing up, and after finding the stairs, rushed up to Steven's bed. She could hardly see the shaking from under the covers.

"Stevie?" Spinel murmured, patting the 8-year old boy's side, "You okay?"

"... No..." Steven responded, poking his head out from under his blanket. He looked terrified, which amplified an ache in her gem.

"Come 'ere, bud," She assured, her arms outstretched for a hug, "How about a hug from your good ol' friend, Spinel?"

Steven lurched himself into her arms, snuggling into her chest.

For a long while, Spinel was sitting on the bed, leaning her back against the wall, holding Steven close; even close when lightning struck and the thunder boomed.

Wanting to break the tension building up, Spinel whispered, "Hey Steven? Can I… tell you about something?"

Steven mumbled a reply, sounding like a 'yes'.

Spinel took in a deep breath and sighed, "I… had a nightmare last night. What happened was that P…" She paused. The other promise from millennia ago, when Pink Diamond made her and Pearl promise to never let anyone know about their secret, flooded back to her. She gulped, deciding to word her situation carefully, no matter how bad she wanted to tell the truth.

"What happened was that your _mother_ and I were playing in a garden. It started off just fine… but then your mother told me to stand and wait. Then she left, getting smaller and smaller as she walked away. And I couldn't move..."

The events of her dream started to play again in her head. Steven lifted his chin, hearing Spinel's usually loving, motherly tone lower into something more solemn.

"I just stood there, staring forward, waiting for her to come back. And then the world around me started to… warp. The foliage began to overgrow and die, the stars above me flying across the sky, and the colors dulled into something ugly and dead ..."

Spinel gripped Steven tighter and tremble, "And, oh stars, I just... _stood_ there. Hoping that she'd come back. A-And then I could feel vines around my legs trap me in place, tightening their grip and..."

Tears began to fall as she shook, the images of her nightmare digging into her mind. She couldn't even feel Steven grasping her tightly-

_**CRASH!**_

Spinel jolted out of her trance by the thunder, breathing heavily as her tears spilled.

"Spinel! Stop! I'm here!" Steven shouted. Her body relaxed, loosening her grip on the boy.

"I... I'm sorry..." She murmured from her daze.

Steven only snuggled closer, looking up with his dark eyes, "... W-Was it really that bad?" His hands touched her cheeks, wiping her tears away. Love poured itself into her gem, the images fading as she embraced him once again.

"Yes." Spinel whispered, "But you know what?"

"What?"

"That wasn't real. I'm not in the garden. I'm here, sitting with you, listening to the storm... this... _this_ is real."


End file.
